London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Carshalton 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Carshalton]
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INFANT MORTALITY.
The number of children under 1 year of age whose deaths were
registered during the year was 24, of which 13 were males and 11
females. This gives an infant mortality rate of 22.8 per 1,000 live births.
It is again a very favourable index, being second only to the previous
year's record low and compares with a rate of 41 for the country as
a whole.
All but two were deaths of legitimate children.
Of the total, 50% died in the first week of life and 75% died from
prematurity, congenital abnormality or other birth conditions and
diseases peculiar to the first year of life. Five (21%) were clearly the
result of infections, 3 from pneumonia and 2 from gastro-enteritis.
Although infantile paralysis was present in the district as elsewhere in
epidemic form during the summer and autumn no case of this disease
in a child of under one year of age came to notice.
The ward distribution of infant mortality and the causes of death
are shown in Tables 6 and 7.
TABLE 6.
INFANT MORTALITY—WARD DISTRIBUTION.
| Ward. | Infant Deaths. | Rate per 1,000 Live Births. |
|---|---|---|
| St. Helier North | 7 | 50 |
| St. Helier South | - | - |
| St. Helier West | 2 | 14 |
| North-East | 6 | 26 |
| North-West | 2 | 12 |
| Central | 3 | .29 |
| South-East | 1 | 8 |
| South-West | 3 | 37 |
The infant mortality in the various wards in the teu year period 1938/47 was as follows:—
| WARDS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. H. North | St. H. South | St. H. West | N.E. | N.W. | C. | S.E. | S.W. | Whole District | |
| Live Births | 1213 | 978 | 1141 | 1753 | 1078 | 771 | 948 | 708 | 8590 |
| Infant Deaths | 51 | 43 | 38 | 56 | 37 | 16 | 33 | 12 | 286 |
| Infant Mortality (per 1,000 births | 42.0 | 49.0 | 33.3 | 31.9 | 34.3 | 20.9 | 34.8 | 17.0 | 33.3 |
MATERNAL MORTALITY.
For the third year in succession there was no death attributable to
maternal causes.
16